Coming from Aesir Interactive, NightinGames and Mindscape, The Legend of Khiimori is a new horse experience waiting for you. Take on the role of a courier in 13th century Mongolia, bond with your horse, tame the wilds and deliver messages across plains and mountains, where danger lurks at every corner. Weather conditions, difficult terrain, wild animals, hunger and thirst will be your constant companions. But together, you and your trusty steed can conquer the difficult journey and return safely.
The game will be arriving in Early Access on March 3rd, 2026. Releasing the game this way will allow the developers to build a collaborative relationship with players and fine-tune the game’s world and mechanics according to the received feedback.
The Legend of Khiimori will remain in Steam EA for approximately a year, prioritizing quality over speed and ensuring that a certain standard of quality is met before the full launch. EA players will be able to partake in the core gameplay loop: exploration, survival on horseback, breeding, training, and questing across a decent portion of the open world. Then, in the full release, the team will also introduce a compelling main story, refined mechanics, voice acting and localization, and more.
I had a chance to play the game’s demo and try out the saddle of a Mongolian courier for about an hour. Let’s ride!
The demo does not feature an involved storyline, instead kicking off with a simple task: approach the nearby settlement, talk to the locals and see what they need, trade with merchants, and, once your business is done, set off into the wilderness again. Just you, your horse, and the expansive world beyond.
When it comes to your tasks of finding people or delivering messages or supplies, the most important part is building your route. Of course, the first quest will be just off the road, allowing you to take advantage of the well-trodden path, but the courier’s life will take Naraa all around Mongolia, so be prepared to face the harsh climate, steep cliffs, mountains, snow, and other natural obstacles on your path.
It is up to you to decide how to proceed: do you take the longest but the safest path, or do you brave the conditions such as the mud, risk your own health and that of your horse, to save yourself some time and resources?
Throughout your journey, you will have to pay attention to a variety of conditions – not only your own, but the horse’s as well. That includes mood, thirst, hunger, stamina – and the state of your saddlebags. You don’t want to over-encumber your steed or upset the balance by loading all of your goods into a single bag.
Once the decision is made, you are up in your saddle and moving towards your destination, the game takes on an almost meditative approach. You pass by the amazing varied landscapes, encounter wild life such as the bears or wolves, witness the night come after the day, only for another dawn to arrive.
On the way, you will also perform basic horse care: ensure your mount has enough food and water, brush it out, tend to the hooves, dress injuries or treat other conditions. While you are traversing the plains, it comes naturally: there are plenty of little rivers, lakes and creeks on your way to replenish your water supplies, and you can let your horse rest and graze.
However, once you move to the less accessible regions – be it deserts, snowy peaks, even mud that noticeably slows down your movement and increases the chance of your horse stumbling and injuring itself, the importance of the right preparation becomes apparent.
Add in the fact that your route might take you through the area occupied by the wild beasts, and your character is by no means Lara Croft that will exterminate the local populace for pelts and teeth. While you do wield the bow, the developers have mentioned that it is a tool rather than a weapon. The answer lies in carefully observing the surrounding land, for it contains (almost) all that you need: herbs to make powder from, animal dung to create repellents, and more.
For those who don’t want to partake in too many survival elements, there are three levels of difficulty to choose from: Relaxed, Balanced and Challenging.
Relaxed is for those who just want to saddle up and ride, explore the surroundings, and care for their horse. Balanced is the mode recommended by the devs for the balance in challenge, the steppes will test you. Finally, Challenging is for experienced riders who are prepared to give everything they’ve got to survive and fulfill their missions.
Similarly, there are two Riding Styles to choose from: Adventurer with a casual horse control scheme, and Equestrian with the realistic one.
All in all, The Legend of Khiimori provides a unique experience – a horse-themed open-world game with survival and RPG elements, driven by a web of systems that would have you engage with a variety of content for hours to come, especially when the exploration will get spiced up with the actual story. The animations are a bit wooden as of the moment, there’s no voice over or an involved main story, but all of the above were among the touch-ups mentioned by the team.
Another aspect that I hope they pay attention to is optimization.
The Legend of Khiimori – PC System Requirements
Minimum:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 64 bit or later (Windows 11 recommended for Intel 12th and 13th gen CPUs)
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K / AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (6GB) / AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (6GB)
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 60 GB available space
Recommended:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 64 bit or later (Windows 11 recommended for Intel 12th and 13th gen CPUs)
- Processor: Intel Core i7-10700K / AMD Ryzen 7 3800X
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (8GB) / AMD RX 6700 XT (12GB)
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 60 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD required.
While my system specs are above the recommended, my PC was still struggling to run the game smoothly even on the Medium settings.
